Microsoft to open flagship Pitt Street Mall store

Pitt Street Mall has morphed into the playground of the rich and famous, with Microsoft, founded by Bill Gates, said to be the latest international name to have signed up a flagship store along the strip.

In the most recent Main Streets Around the World survey by Cushman & Wakefield, Pitt Street Mall was named the fifth most expensive strip in terms of rent, and only sits behind New York's Upper Fifth Avenue, London's Bond Street and Hong Kong's Causeway Bay.

Microsoft is set to join the international brands that have thronged to the Pitt Street Mall. Photo: Cole Bennetts

The average rent is about $10,000 per square metre, per annum.

It is said the computer giant's first major site in the country will be where the Guess was and could even spill over to the next-door space which was, until recently, leased by Cue. If the two stores are leased the site will total about 650 square metres over two levels.

The store is nestled between cosmetics giant, Sephora and the new H&M, which opens later this year.

Scentre, which owns Westfield Sydney, was said to have completed the deal internally with Microsoft, but the landlord declined to comment.

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Once opened, the store will offer a range of software and some products, in direct competition to the Apple and Samsung stores in the parallel George Street.

If successful, Microsoft will look at sites in Melbourne and then around the country.

Agents said having the major international retailers in the same area between Market and King Street will cement the mall as one of the prime streets in the world, where the wealthiest people all have a presence.

According to the latest data, the richest retailer in the world is Amancio Ortega, who owns Zara, followed by the richest person in the world, Bill Gates, who founded Microsoft and was valued at about $79 billion, and Stefan Persson, the owner of H&M, valued at about $25 billion.

Savills retail agents say, in the latest Sydney CBD paper, the success of these CBD developments can be seen by the increased pedestrian activity through Pitt Street Mall and surrounding streets since the opening of the international retailers.

"Pitt Street Mall maintains its position as Sydney's premier shopping destination and is establishing itself as the place for international flagship stores and will continue to strengthen once H&M and Forever 21 open," the research says.

"Despite high rents, Pitt Street Mall has unsurprisingly been a highly sought after location by international retailers. A lack of space in the Prime Retail Precinct for luxury and high end retailers has collectively held this market captive and there is currently far more demand than supply."

It has been indicated that a Zara Home store is opening in The Glasshouse adjoining the new H&M flagship store. A number of international brands are reported to be seeking space in the Sydney CBD, including Marks & Spencer, Hamleys toys and the UK department chain Debenhams.

Sony is also looking in Australia and is said to have viewed the retail space under 383 George Street.

"Just as international visitors come to Sydney specifically to do business, they come here to shop as well. Visitors, particularly from Asia, view Sydney as a retail destination in its own right and the high quality of recent development in Pitt Street has recognised and catered to this trend," Mr Woolford said.